'Ladies Lounge' keeps female hip-hop and R&B in rotation

Tools

The audience for hip-hop and R&B may be demographically diverse, but that's not always the case with the industry itself. So it's refreshing to tune in to a local radio program hosted by two women who clearly know their way around female hip-hop.

Reverie, a self-described military brat, came to Colorado Springs with her father in the '90s. She recalls taping shows by future Blazin personality DJ Michaels — back when he was still with local Top 40 station Magic FM — and says that both she and Ramirez number New York hip-hop personality Angie Martinez among their idols.

We caught up with Reverie last week to talk about music, life, and the airwaves.

Indy: One of your husbands — I'm not sure whose — called in last week to request Digable Planets' "Rebirth of Slick," which is one of my favorite '90s hip-hop tracks. Was that yours?

Mang-Yee Reverie: Yes, it was. He's a sergeant in the Army, and he's on a nine-month deployment in Poland. He left in January, and he listens every day.

So who came up with theLadies Loungeconcept, and what was the original idea behind it?

Well, when I first came on back in October, there weren't any slots up for grabs, so Justina and I were actually co-hosting different shows. And then she approached me one day about it, and I really liked the idea. You know, it's a male-dominated industry, definitely, so I thought we could have some fun with it.

What was your radio background prior to starting here at Blazin?

I learned at AFN, the Armed Forces Network, which is the military media. You know, we have the TV, the radio, and then the Stars & Stripes, which is our newspaper. So that's where I got into radio, with the AFN crew in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

"U.N.I.T.Y." absolutely; Queen Latifah was always a big influence. And my favorite female artist is definitely Mary J. Blige, because we've seen her grow through so many facets of being, both in personal life and as an entertainer. She's going through a divorce right now, so we're expecting some great music out of her. As unfortunate as that sounds, it's like when she's in pain is when she puts out her most amazing music. She's gotten a lot of people through a lot.

So what are the most unusual topics you've talked about since the show went on the air?

We get a lot of people calling in to ask relationship questions. And it's funny, because we actually get a lot of male callers. They call in to give their input. I'm actually surprised by that.

Not just your husband?

Not just my husband, no. [Laughs.] He'll call in for a request, but he doesn't usually chime in on that.